Messiah Documentary

Going Global

As our creative collective has started to dig in and explore the real reach and scope of Handel’s Messiah in the 21st century one thing has become abundantly clear – this is not a European story or an American story, it’s a story that’s global in scope. Handel’s Messiah is performed every year on almost every continent around the world. And even the one where it’s not currently being performed has a fascinating backstory about that recent development.

“Handel’s Messiah is performed every year on almost every continent around the world.”

Which, for our production team, means there’s going to be a whole lot of international travel in our immediate future. Anyone who’s ever been a part of a film crew in a foreign country knows that the stress and variables of capturing great visuals and audio thousands of miles from your home base is no small feat. Even a single piece of misplaced or malfunctioning gear can mean the difference between success and failure. It’s planning and execution on a whole other level.

For this documentary, however, there is simply no way to tell the story well without providing that scope and context. More importantly, without the stories of the individual people who make these thousands of yearly performances possible there’s no way we can really grasp why Handel’s Messiah has become the touchstone for generation after generation.

“Without the stories of the individual people who make these thousands of yearly performances possible there’s no way we can really grasp why Handel’s Messiah has become the touchstone for generation after generation.”

Is it scary? Yes, yes it is. But at the end of the day we simply believe it’s going to be a story too good not to tell.